


Husky

by Aki_Saiko (saikowrites)



Series: Writober 2019 [6]
Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Aoi has to do the groceries but has no sense of direction, Fever, Gen, Inktober 2019, Midori gets sick, Tenderness, Very light mention of past magical battles, Writober 2019, daily life, husky - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 05:49:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20925188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saikowrites/pseuds/Aki_Saiko
Summary: "A neat map with a bright blue line on it stands out among the recent pictures. Aoi taps on it and glares at the screen. The starting point – a 24h supermarket – is connected to the end one – Midori’s apartment building – by a clear line that says:straight – right – cross the road – right – straight again.So why am I not about to cross a road?"WRITOBER 2019 | Day 6: Husky | Based on the official Inktober 2019 prompt list.





	Husky

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know the international fic fandom of MadoMagi in the slightest so. Uhm. Hello?  
I'm a huge Madoka fan since basically its airing in 2011, and it has been one of the biggest obsession of my life ever since. During high school I endend up building my personal cast of OCs because why not. Magical girls were fun and chemistry was not. I designed every one of them, wrote their profile, drew a timeline and expanded their story over the years. Taking it up now, six years later, I realised just how many things are too naif and need improving in structure and worldbuilding. So, I'm determined to make... something out of that high school projects, but it will take time. This very very very short story during Writober is my personal way of remembering them and giving them some space.

_A turn to the right, then straight through a crossroad. Then another turn to the right and go straight on down the road._

Aoi turns to the right. A narrow street defined by buildings and shops and restaurants spread in front of her, but no crossroad. She adjusts the plastic bag on her not-too-bad shoulder; it is scratching her armpit through the fabric of her coat, not fit for being carried as a proper bag. She searches for her phone in the pocket and her digits curl slowly around it, her grip frail. She steadies her hand and opens the screenshots folder with trembling thumb.

A neat map with a bright blue line on it stands out among the recent pictures. Aoi taps on it and glares at the screen. The starting point – a 24h supermarket – is connected to the end one – Midori’s apartment building – by a clear line that says: _straight – right – cross the road – right – straight again_.

_So why am I not about to cross a road?_

She groans and turns back towards the Family Mart. She hopes that the wi-fi connection is good enough for her needs outside of the shop, too.

It is. Aoi opens the browser for the second time and inputs the address saved in the notes of the phone. The little indicator flickers on the map for a bit and stabilises in the centre of the shop building instead that just outside of it. The localization is much less accurate on the web page than in the app, but she will have to manage with it anyways. Aoi puts the bag down, a sting of pain in her arm when she bends it. She uses the now free hand to zoom in and look closely: she can identify the crossroad, the street and the playground she passed by on her way to the store.

She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, her knees whining, and she looks around. A road in front of her – the one she’s just come back from – one to her right and a parking lot on her left. She was supposed to go straight on the path in front of her, so what did go wrong? Had she committed some error in transcribing the address? That would be a problem, she can’t contact Midori for indications now.

A toothpaste advertisement across the road on her right catches her attention. Flashy colours, big writings and a penguin mascot. She has seen it before.

Aoi turns her eyes back on the screen and it’s clear. She shouldn’t have taken the way _just facing the shop_ but the one on her right, instead. She sighs and, for a moment, misses the time when she used to have a car and a driver who got her to every place she wanted.

She picks up the bag, but her grab is not firm enough to carry it. She lifts it on her shoulder again and sets out, this time in the right direction.

The walk until Midori’s house is short and the bag light, but it’s still enough to weigh her down. She opens the gate, sweat at the back of her neck and her soul gem ring tight on her middle finger, and wonders when she will be able to haunt down witches again.

The elevator’s doors open with a _ding_ and she drags herself into it, thankful for sparing her still recovering body a six-floors climb up the stairs.

The front door of Midori’s house closes behind her. Aoi touches the wall of the entrance hallway searching for a switch but can’t find it, so she uses her phone’s flashlight instead. She proceeds down the short and narrow hallway and moves past the bathroom door on the right, the plastic of the bag on her shoulder rubbing against the smooth panels.

The living room is in semi-darkness, illuminated only by the two led spotlights above the kitchen counter. Midori is curled up on the corner sofa, buried under layers of blankets, her smartphone abandoned on her side and still playing a YouTube video from before she fell asleep.

Aoi places the bag on the counter and clears her throat. “Midori? I’m back.”

The other girl shifts slightly in her drowsiness, her coughing muffled by a mask. Aoi gets closer and sits cross-legged on the floor besides her. Midori rubs her green eyes and her gaze focuses.

“Uh? You’re back.” Her voice is hoarse and low, the words altered by the cold. Her forest green hair is dishevelled from the sleep, straight long locks spread messily on the cushion.

“Yeah, and I almost got lost. Life with no internet connection is awful.”

“Talking about sense of direction, uh? How did you even live this far in your life without knowing how to read a map?”

Aoi ignores the mockery and points at the plastic bag with the groceries. “I got some tamagoyaki, canned mackerel, instant miso soup and noodles and some red beans jam dorayaki. And, two bottles of peach green tea. It’s not much, but I fear it’s the heaviest I could carry.”

“Oh no, that’s fine. Besides, I should be able to come with you next time you’ll need to go to the store.”

Aoi casts her a doubtful look. “How’s your fever?”

Silence.

“I think it’s getting better, but I haven’t taken the temperature yet.” Midori responds, her eyes slipping away from Aoi’s gaze.

“You know you could use magic to speed the process, don’t you?”

“Hey, don’t play the know-it-all with me. I’m the one who told you about healing magic and its miracles. And, I thought we were saving _our_ energies to get _your body_ back on track.”

Aoi would like to complain, but Midori is right. That witch struck her hard, harder than any other she had confronted before. She remembered feeling her body about to come apart and her soul on the verge of pitch-black despair. Cracks in her heart that were rifts in her soul gem and a grief seed before her but too far to reach. Then, relief. Pain and tossing and stinging in her flesh. The blurry sight of a sofa, and then nothing. She opened her eyes again and Midori told her she had been in some kind of coma for weeks.

Aoi bites her lower lip and plays with the ring, says nothing. Midori sits upright and coughs in her mask. She struggles with words but forces herself to speak. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Which is, not too believable right now, but I’ve had worse. And you’ve had almost-dead worse, so really. Don’t worry. I’ll take my medicine and recover naturally. We still have one grief seed left and it’s for you.”

“I really don’t know how to repay the debt.” Aoi says, chest heavy and throat knotted.

Her stomach growls. She startles.

“Well, you could start by cooking dinner.” Midori jokes. “But you bought only pre-cooked and instant meals, so I assume you probably don’t know how to cook.”

“I… have never needed it. I will do my best to learn.”

“Put some rice in the rice cooker, then. I’m ok with miso soup or noodles but you’ll need something more consistent. I’m not asking if you know how to use it.”

“Hopefully, the internet does.”

“Is that sarcasm?”

Aoi doesn’t reply. Midori is too lively even with a fever and Aoi isn’t used to that jovial bickering. Besides, she’s starving.

**Author's Note:**

> Previous work in the collection: Pokémon BW - Ferriswheelshipping - Build  
Next one in the collection will be: Persona 5 - kind of Akira character study


End file.
